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DOUM'DIRlC-LPiNES 

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COPVRIGHT BEPOSm 



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Down Lyric Lanes 

Sj Ethel Cotton 



HARR WAGNER PUBLISHING CO. 
SAN FRANCISCO 



.t>s 






COPYRIGHT 1942 
'By ETHEL COTTON 



'Printed by 
E. C. Brown 
San Francisco 



V!i^ 



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©CI.Ae02125 



DEDICATION 

To you who by opening your 

heart have allowed me to creep 

into your understandings this 

little volume is lovingly 

dedicated. 



INDEX 

Sun and Shade: 

Fog Curtain, San Francisco 9 

I Greet Thee, Spring 7 

I Stand Beside a Spring 13 

In Fancy's Wonderland 18 

Leaves 17 

Spirit of San Francisco 15 

Summer 12 

Tamalpais 8 

Under the Trees 10 

Wrath 14 

High Noon: 

Bugle Note 26 

Potential 27 

Sunrise 28 

Symbol Flower . . 31 

To My Friend 25 

To W. E. M 30 

On Upward Trails: 

A Picture 37 

Blinded 42 

I Walk Unafraid 41 

Kinship 36 

On Hearing of the Death of Caruso .... 40 

Prayer 43 

The China Lily 39 

Two Roads 35 



SUN AND SHADE 



Down Lyric Lanes 



I GREET THEE, SPRING 

Hail to thee, Springtime of Gladness! 
Wonderful year-time of promise ! 
Each little bud In Its outline 
Sketching the coming of summer, 
Soon to burst forth In Its beauty, 
Full and complete In Its glory ! 
All of thy delicate colors. 
Wistful and dainty as fog-wreaths. 
Hover around and about us. 
Tenderly brooding above us. 
Filtering Into our senses, 
Stir the deep wells of our beings; 
Lift vague and shadowy fancies. 
Limn them, alluring, before us. 
Hope Is In every tendril. 
Tiptoeing up to the star-light, 
Climbing more close to the star-light; 
Power In every blade-throb, 
Feeling the pull of the planets; 
Gladness In every streamlet, 
Rippling In joy to the river; 
Spirit of flower-clad beauty. 
Symbol of gladness, I greet you I 



[7] 



Down Lyric iLanes 



TAMALPAIS 



With superhuman strength you shook 

Your giant head, and raised it to the sky. 

One mighty effort you put forth, 

And lo ! aloft you stand, your huge form Hfted high. 

Through walls of rock you came, — and broke 
The mighty masses, tossing them far, free ! 

The fragments pierce your mammoth form 
As mighty scars, now healed, revealing victory. 

As on a face made beautiful 

With marks of battles won, and conquered pride, 
So all the beauty of the years 

Is shown upon your slopes, emerging from your 
skie. 

Uncompromising, proud you stand; 

Majestic picture as you lordly tower; 
Emblem of strength, great force reserved. 

Unfaltering monument of your eternal power I 



Down Lyric Lanes 



FOG CURTAIN 

San Francisco 

Nature, beneficent, with artist's eye 
And lavish hand, her draperies hung high; 
They billow full on all her city gates. 
Encircling her seven hills with soft 
Diaphanous folds of silvered loveliness. 
From hill to hill the curtain clings, and falls 
In limpid lines and curves; — and swerves above 
Her strongly-chiselled features lovingly. 

Life's elements are guarded well beneath 

The mantle, holding close the juice of life. 

No blighting touch of frozen finger-tips 

Dare venture under the protecting veil. 

Nor over-heated breath of fevered sun 

To draw the moisture from the pregnant air, — 

Salt-laden strength that seeps Into her soil. 

Chosen days, rare days. In fleece-like waves. 

The languid folds are swung aloft and blend 

With warm sky-mist, that shafts of golden strength 

May fall upon our city's naked breasts 

And penetrate her form with nourishment, 

The while she breathes the tempered atmosphere. 

With twilight's soft approach her mantle, loosed, 
Lightly falls across her curving form, 
And, as a timid lover, wraps her close 
In tender, soft embrace ; to sleep again 
Cloistered within her coverlet of silver. 



Down Lyric Lanes 



UNDER THE TREES 

Under the trees I'm reclining, 

Under the sheltering trees — 
Heaven Is caught In the branches, 

Patches of blue link the leaves, 
Sheltering me with seclusion, 

Shutting away space and time, 
Bringing a sense of abandon. 

Peace and a languor sublime. 

Under the trees I am hearing 

Thoughts not expressed In mere words. 
Secrets revealed by the breezes, 

Echoed In songs of the birds. 
Murmurlngs out of the ether. 

Voices from vastness afar. 
Melodies fluttering earthward. 

Songs that were born on a star ! 

Under the trees pungent perfumes 

Permeate me, and renew 
Memories dear of dim forests. 

Cedar and cypress and yew; 
Falling leaves scatter their fragrance. 

Baptism holy and sweet. 
Filling the air with an Incense, 

Scenting soft paths for my feet. 



lO 



Down Lyric Lanes 



Under the trees all my senses, 

Stretched toward the canopy green,- 
Touch the tall tips of the branches 

Hid in the shadowy screen. 
Life is imbued with a fullness, 

Earth i^ a garden of ease 
Under the trees in the open, 

Under broad sheltering trees. 



Down Lyric Lanes 



SUMMER 



Moments there are when joy has filled the heart 
Too full for one more upward sigh; 

When deepest yearnings of the soul surge strong 
within, 
But silent die. 

Before the cup is over-filled or runs 

Beyond its bound, 
A moment of quick ecstasy vibrates the calm, 

Deep peace, profound. 

Summer ! Zenith of all beauty, — Art 

Supreme, weaving with thy myriad tinted bloom 
A fabric exquisite; the masterpiece 

Of Nature's loom. 



[12 



Down Lyric Lanes 



I STAND BESIDE A SPRING 

It bubbles from the earth unceasingly; 

Unceasingly it sends forth water clear 
From source unending, — from a bountiful 

And unturned faucet, flowing year by year. 

What giant hand could lay this mighty main 
That furnishes the life to beast and man? 

What wisdom filter all the streams of earth, 
Supply men's needs upon this lavish plan? 

Spontaneously it sparkles from the earth, 
As if it joyed to live, and squandered free 

Its gift. Its subtle touch paints deep the rose. 
Its pregnant power stirs every budding tree. 



13 



Down Lyric Lanes 



WRATH 



The sea is breathing heavily tonight, 

Like some huge beast unsatisfied, but leashed; 

It heaves its savage breast, 

And tugs to strain the chafing of its bounds. 

The weathered clouds, taunting above its lunging head, 

Beyond its power to strike, 

But stirs its sullenness. 

Now muttering low, it growls and snarls 
And shows its fangs of tawny foam; 
Still tossing, battling restlessly, 
With wrath increasing, voice becoming loud. 
It shouts its vengeance at the stolid cliff ! 

Incensed by the repulse. 
As if the mad attack increased its fury, 
It beats and lashes all its ominous depths 
Into a mad upheaval of white rage, until — 
Exhausted, spent, and broken in weak wrath, 
It dribbles back and slinks away, ashamed. 

The sea is breathing restlessly tonight, 

As if disturbed by its mad burst of futile passion. 



4] 



Down Lyric Lanes 



SPIRIT OF SAN FRANCISCO 

Spirit intangible that creeps and slowly sinks 
Its roots into the soul ! Spirit unbound, 
Unchartered, — ever roving where it wills — 
Rising elusive from the pregnant ways. 
Embracing, sense-absorbing, vine-like myth. 
As strong and varied as her rough-hewn hills ! 

Encouraging the languorous to loll 
At ease upon her sun-draped slopes, and dream- 
While pillowed soft in fragrance — lazy dream 
Of sunny slopes of Spain, to turn again 
And see them mirrored in the silver bay. 

The roving soul, sprawled restless on the sands. 
Peering with seeing eyes beyond the gate. 
Contented, shrugs more deep his shoulders wide, 
And settles in the shifting sand-grains, as 
From lowered lids he follows vagrant craft 
Across the bar, and sees them slowly drop 
Below the curve of the horizon's edge; 
Knowing, however fair the old worlds seem, 
The veering sails will one day turn again 
To catch the western breeze; and drift once more 
Within the shelter of the luring port. 



[15] 



Down Lyric Lanes 



Tang of the air, that presses open wide 

The lifted nostril; thrusting in its curve 

Revivifying odors of salt spray! 

The breeze with incense of the Orient, 

Faint pungency of eucalyptus sap, 

And subtle sweetness of the lupines' juice! 

The rigid son of Commerce, Protege 
Of Art, — Bohemia's loved vagabond, — 
And youthful minds that yet can thrill afresh 
At intake of the breath of life breathed hard,- 
All, all respond to subtle influence 
That, wraith-like as her ever guarding fog. 
Is only dimly seen, and dimly sensed; 
But ever growing, creeps and winds itself 
Close, with its tendrils firmly rooted, deep 
Into the soil of every heart. Roots strong. 
That penetrate the bed-rock of the ground. 



[i6 



Doivn Lyric Lanes 



LEAVES 



Splashes of scarlet and orange ! 
Brown-tinged yellow and russet ! 

Leaves ! 
Gorgeous, glorious leaves, 
Etchings and motifs of autumn; 
After the season of blooming, 
Burnished with glorified colors; 
Riotous, orient splendor ! 

Leaves ! 
Languorously fluttering, poising, 
Carpeting bare open spaces 
Rich with your orient weavings. 

Leaves ! 
Down to the earth you're descending. 
Back to the mother who nourished — 
Draping her dullness with beauty. 
Showering glory upon her; 
Even as they who are snatching 
Splashes of color from living. 
Brighten the source with new gladness; 
Pierce the pale drab with a splendor ! 
Bringing the golden and scarlet 
Into the browns and the shadows ! 



[17] 



Down Lyric Lanes 



IN FANCY'S WONDERLAND 

Long years ago, In childhood days, 
My parents always thought my ways 
Uncommon strange, eccentric, queer; 
For things to them quite real were mere, 
In my small brain, fantastic show; 
Or stranger still, were all aglow 
With glories, splendors dear to me 
That none but Fancy's eye could see. 
I could not understand 
Why others could not with me share 
Alluring visions pictured there. 

In our small home, 

I lived alone 

In Fancy's wonderland. 

And when they did not comprehend 

My little vagrant visions, then 

A new Idea seized my brain: 

(It first brought joy, and later pain.) 

That I was really not their child. 

But long years past a brigand wild. 

Through crafty, subtle act, unseen, 

Had stolen me from magic queen, 

In mystic foreign land. 

And since no filial love they felt. 

For many wistful days I dwelt 

On wrongs I knew. 

That later grew 

In Fancy's wonderland. 

[i8 1 



Down Lyric Lanes 



When after I was made to feel 

My parents were my own, and real, 

Keen sorrow with the thought was sown. 

That I was only, as their own, 

A simple child, of simple birth, 

With lowly station on the earth. 

Until at last a vision new 

Evolved itself, and ever grew 

Until the world it spanned ! 

No more in modest home we dwelt, 

But in my childish mind I felt 

My home, once plain, 

New grandeur gain 

In Fancy's wonderland. 

I'd climb the rustic loft of hay 
And to my inner self I'd say : 
"These ruins add much to the charm 
Of these vast acres, wooded farm 
Of my old squire." And gazing through 
The farmyard gate, I only knew 
It as the portal stately, tall, 
That led into the entrance hall 
Of castle large and grand. 
And every little rustic walk 
Or garden path, to me would talk 

Of wooers old. 

Knights brave and bold. 

In Fancy's wonderland. 



[19 



Down Lyric Lanes 



In going to my simple bed 

I'd turret mount, with tousled head 

Held high; as childish thought would roam 

Around this mansion, once the home 

Of royal knight, now far away; 

And we, his kinsmen, here to stay 

Ujitil the wandering one returned. 

And as the candle lower burned, 

With childish eye I scanned 

The curtains, that to me were old 

Soft Persian, threaded all with gold, 

And carven chair. 

And grandeur rare. 

In Fancy's wonderland. 

At morn, as I on pony sat, 

(In truth, 'twas rather slow and fat,) 

I rode on steed with flowing mane. 

And cantered through the country lane 

As if but viewing the estate 

Of my ancestors, proud and great. 

Instead of open fields and road. 

Upon my steed of black I rode 

On tropic fairy strand. 

With tall trees waving as I passed. 

And blossoms that forever last. 

Full many miles 

By bridges, stiles, 

In Fancy's wonderland. 



20 



Down Lyric Lanes 



A little way below the hill 
The ocean with unswerving will 
Surged in upon the rock-bound coast; 
Here proudly I would stand and boast 
Of my domain, boundless and grand ! 
The water-ways were fairy-land 
Where lived my people, and the tide 
Swift carried them. I saw them ride 
High up upon the sand. 
Toward visions vague as mist, I'd strain 
My eyes across the restless main, 

And long I'd gaze 

In mystic maze 

In Fancy's wonderland. 



O waves ! Your rainbow-tinted spray 
Painted my childish dreams for me; 
Created fair my fairy-peopled strand, 
As now your surging melody 
Makes martial music on the way 
Of my abiding, rarer wonderland! 



[21] 



HIGH NOON 



Down Lyric Lanes 



TO MY FRIEND 

If I had wings to carry me away, 

I'd fly to you, O friend of my glad heart. 
And sing a melody of thankfulness 

For strength, of which you gave the greater part. 
For when to me the narrow road seemed rough. 

Too steep to climb to reach the longed-for goal, 
You always guided, urged my tired feet. 

And with your faith revived my weakened soul. 

O tender heart, unselfish In your gift, 

And generous In every helpful thought, 
In a full tide my thanks flow back to you 

Seeking the comfort that you always brought. 
If I, In simple note, can tune again 

One other silent voice to vibrant songs, 
To you shall then return the praise and joy; 

To you the cup of happiness belongs. 



25] 



Down Lyric Lanes 



BUGLE NOTE 



Before you came into my life, I had not known 

In my un-seeing heart there could be sown 
Such love that soon would color fair a whole 
New world for me, — illume my blinded soul. 

Before you came into my life, and altered all. 
No voice had thundered forth the clarion call 
"Awake! thou idle dreamer! Onward go! 
To lure of laggard's voice, dare answer 'No'." 

Before you came into my life, no loving guide 
To upward path walked ever by my side ; 
Yet though with you my heart can really rest, 
Alwa^ys I hear the call, ''On ! Live thy best I" 



[26 



Down Lyric Lanes 



POTENTIAL 



Do you know how little violet accepts its draught of 
dew, 
And lifts its head once more to azure sky? 
Do you know how golden gilly-flowers their yellow 
cups uphold, 
Receiving benediction from on high? 

Thy friendship thus inspires my soul with gladness. 
And stirs my heart in new desire to be 

All that I craved, all that thou still believest. 
And in thy blindness thou now thinkest me. 



[271 



Down Lyric Lanes 



SUNRISE 



The day dawned cold, deserted, damp and drear, 

Nothing above 
Or on the earth or sea gave forth a sound. 

Save one lone dove. 

Grey mist surrounded it; I saw it pictured there 

A bird forlorn. 
As, sad, it rested on a storm-swept branch 

That cheerless morn. 

That one grey lonely dove murmured its plea, 

A plaintive cry. 
To find its mate. My sad heart echoed forth 

Its wail on high. 

Then from the barren grey of life 

You came to me. 
The sun broke through illusion's mist, and shone 

Gloriously. 

You kissed my eyes, my lips. — Then tenderly 

You touched my hair. 
Caressingly you stroked its midnight mesh. 

And lingered there. 



28 



Down Lyric Lanes 



Ah love, the warmth that flamed forth from your eyes 

Dispelled life's grey; 
And there was born anew that hour for me 

A fairer day. 

What matters if all life be one long night, 

Dark skies and drear? 
For me has dawned that joyous golden day — 

My dawn is here ! 



29 



Down Lyric Lanes 



TO W. E. M. 



I wonder, dear, if you can guess 
How much you give of happiness 
In life's great hours or moments less, 
Because — you understand. 

I feel it matters not with you 
If I seem thoughtless, or untrue; 
You love, no matter what I do, 
Because — you understand. 

Some look for explanations; fear 
The acts or deeds of which they hear, 
And friendship bought thus proves too dear, 
But you— you understand. 

Such faith as yours proves all I need 
To help me strive for nobler deed. 
And strengthens me to live my creed; 
Content — you'll understand. 



[30] 



Down Lyric Lanes 



SYMBOL FLOWER 

You brought me a blossom, dear, 
You had plucked in a wayside yard; 

A fragile, delicate thing, 

That whispered of your regard. 

The day had been steeped in fog; 

No sunshine kissed the pane; 
The blossom breathed of May, 

Touched life with hope again. 

You brought me a symbol, dear, 

A delicate, fragile thing, 
And the fragrance that stirred in the air 

Was you, and your love, and Spring. 



31] 



ON UPWARD TRAILS 



Down Lyric Lanes 



TWO ROADS 



The path of Least Resistance Is an easy path to tread, 
For the road seems broad and winding, and we can- 
not see ahead. 
It looks to be quite level, but It really leads you down 
Into Sure Dissatisfaction and Irritation Town. 

The path of Daily Effort Is a rocky road and steep; 
But on the rugged pathway you can always get a peep 
Of Self-Respect and Progress. And as you higher 

stray 
You'll find the flower of Happiness growing by the 

way. 

Although the former pathway seems fairer to one's 

view, 
It does not lead to places where you keep your vision 

true; 
The harder road leads always on where life is rugged, 

free. 
Come, buckle on your mental spurs and mount the 

heights with me. 



35 



Down Lyric Lanes 



KINSHIP 



I do not feel myself descending low, 
Or shrinking into pale significance 
When I behold the wonders of the earth 
Or recognize the strength of cosmic force; 
But, as I ponder with a searching mind 
Upon the process and the law of life, 
I realize my kinship with the source, 
And find exhilaration for my soul; 
When I become a part of Infinite 
Mysterious Nature, I cannot but know 
That you, O Man, are also linked with life, 
And therefore greet you as a soul sublime. 



36 



Down Lyric Lanes 



A PICTURE 



I saw him on a busy street, 
This night so balmy, mild, 

A lad of eight or ten, perhaps — 
A little hungry child. 

But brave he called his evening news 
In plaintive tones, yet loud; 

His tiny form could scarce be seen 
Among the bustling crowd. 

His pleading voice made swift appeal 
To my keen listening ear; 

And eagerly I turned to him, 
And quickly he drew near. 

Oh, not in words he told his tale 1 

His face, pale, sadly thin, 
Betrayed a vital, urgent need, 

A hungry soul within. 

Such hunger — not alone for food. 

But hunger of the heart 
For carefree hours of happy play 

That should have been his part. 



37 



Down Lyric Lanes 



The tired lines and weary droop 

Of head upon his breast 
Appealed for hours that boyhood needs 

Of rich, life-giving rest. 

His very presence there alone, 
With no fond mother near, 

Was living plea for sheltering arms 
That childhood holds most dear. 

I then had left a gallery 

Of modern painters' art. 
But this, a living picture, burned 

More deep into my heart. 



38 



Down Lyric Lanes 



THE CHINA LILY 

(China-lily bulbs will bloom longer and the fragrance 

be sweeter if bulbs are kept in the dark a few days 

after planting.) 

Sheltered in darkness, humble, unseen. 
Till thy bulbs burst into tenderest green, 

Blossoming patiently, greeting the sun 
Only when all thy maturing is done, 

Sweet China-lily that breathes on the air 

Delicate perfume, fragrant and rare. 
Strong are thy rootlets, sturdy thy stem. 
Teaching a wonderful lesson to men. 
****** 

If we but hastily seize on a theme. 
Build a belief from a fabric of dream. 
Thought lacking judgment and reason and power 
Fades into nothingness — lives but an hour. 



39 



Down Ljfric Lanes 



ON HEARING OF THE DEATH 
OF CARUSO 

There burst upon earth's waiting ear a song! 

As if Life's orchestration held a tone 
Of new-found harmony, a vibrant note 

Of soothing sweetness, not of joy alone 
But joy that mingled sorrow in its strain, 

Awoke some long-lost chord, and tossed it free, 
Vibrating the heart-strings of the world, 

To blend them in one strong responsive key. 

And shall we hear no more these stirring notes 

Of beauty? Can such joyous sounds be stilled? 
Nay! In the inner ear still dwells the real 

Eternal music! All the air is filled 
With poignant memories undying, all 

The melting tones the singer joyed to give; 
While in our consciousness we feel, we know, 

That harmonies, once sung, forever live. 



[40 



Down Lyric Lanes 



I WALK UNAFRAID 



I leave behind uncertainty, mistrust, 

I bury deep the faint and faltering word; 

For I have seen the work that I must do. 
The voice of lofty purpose I have heard. 

No more shall any hand turn me aside. 

No more shall pleading voices bid me stay. 

My feet are firmly set on my own path. 
And cannot from my course be led astray. 

Not I alone, but all men walk with me; 

All men who keenly feel or see or hear 
The mystery of life, all tread the road 

That leads to height beyond all mortal fear. 



[41 



Down Lvric Lafies 



BLINDED 

'In stricken Poland," so the Item states, 
"Innumerable babies are born blind, 

And scientists say In the mothers' womb 
A lack of vital nourishment they find." 

A simple little story, simply told 
Within the pages of the daily press; 

Not a bare headline to attract the eye 

Or vague suggestion of dire thoughtlessness. 

Are we, through plenty, even surplus now, 
Become Immune to thoughts of others' need? 

Do we bow down before an earthly shrine 
And place our gold above all other creed? 

It may be that we, too, are maimed for life 
With loathsome blight that menaces the whole 

Fair race with more far-reaching direful scourge, 
With deadly blindness of the human soul. 

Dare Congress pause to think on "Foreign Trade," 
Or "Better Business," while far nations weep? 

When little children, innocent of crime. 

In blindness cry, and In their blindness creep? 



42 



Down Lyric Lanes 



PRAYER 



Give me Thy quietness, Heart of the World; 

I would be still, and long commune with Thee. 
My soul is weary yearning for Thy peace; 

Let me repose in Thy tranquility. 
Oft for a moment I could hear Thy voice 

Amid earth's myriad noises sounding near; 
Too faintly came Thy message, my true sense 

Of consciousness is dulled. Thy voice, still dear, 
I long to know. Give me but power to feel 

The Spirit of that brooding heart of Thine. 
Tune my ear true that in each human voice 

I recognize the tone of the Divine. 



[43] 



